Hand Made Olive Oil Granola

Every week I make a giant batch of olive oil granola and all of it gets eaten. It's easy to tailor the recipe to your own preferences..
Here is my basic formula:

Olive Oil Granola
 4 cups old fashioned oats (I use the gluten-free organic oats from trader Joe's, but you can use any kind of course)
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup chopped walnuts
\1 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1 cup pumpkin seeds (unsalted, hulled)
1/4 cup toasted flax seeds
1/4 cup ground flax seeds (these add omega 3)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (sometimes I use pumpkin pie spice)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (if you use regular salt, only use 1/2 teaspoon)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup honey

Mix ll of the dry ingredients together, then pour in the olive oil, honey and maple syrup. Mix well, Pour into a greased large baking pan or two greased cookie sheets. Bake at 325 F  for 45 minutes - BUT - you need to set the timer for 15 minute and stir every 15 minutes.I like it toasty - if you like it less toasted, then bake 30 minutes and stir every ten minutes.
Let cool, break up with a wooden spoon and store in a sealed container. This only lasts a week in my house.
If you don't like nuts, leave them out. You can use any kind of nuts - pistachios, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts...your choice. I add flax seeds, but you could leave them out. You could use canola oil instead of olive oil. You could use coconut oil - I have - it's delicious. Instead of honey you could use all maple syrup, or agave syrup, or all honey  If you like it sweeter you could add a quarter cup of brown sugar, more cinnamon, ...you get the idea. If you would like to add dried fruit wait until after it is toasted. Dried cranberries are nice. So are freeze-dried blueberries.

What do I do with all of this granola? I'm glad you asked.
I sprinkle it on top of mt Greek Yogurt and fruit

I add it to my cooked oatmeal, for crunch.
It makes an excellent topping for baked apples.
Last summer I ground it up and used it for a cheesecake crust. This gave Mr. Hunting Creek ideas - he ground some up with melted butter and more cinnamon, and spread it on some pizza dough that was in the fridge and made cinnamon rolls.
I add it to cookie dough.I add it to pumpkin and banana bread.
You could always make a half batch, but it makes a great gift.
I like to give some to neighbors for Christmas, in a pretty container, tied with a bow.
pretty soon they'll be back with the empty container, asking for more.

Frankenstorm Prep

Photo of Sandy, aka "Frankenstorm", aka "Snor'Eastertcane" courtesy NOAA

Mr. Hunting Creek is hard at work clearing the gutters, removing dead branches and putting the outside furniture and umbrella away. We have already bought bottled water, batteries and all sorts of food, including what looks like a month's supply of cat food. "How long do you think we  would be trapped in our neighborhood?" I asked Mr. Hunting Creek. We have just the two cats. We have 15 cans of food.. He said, "It's best to be sure." There's a man who takes care of the pets first!
Last year at this time it was snowing, now we're getting a monster storm, the likes of which have never been seen before. Global Climate change is real and it's happening now. We had the Derecho this summer and it was bad enough..
In honor of the approaching storm, I have made some preparations of my own. I made my weekly batch of granola, and to use up three ripe bananas, a batch of Melissa Clark's Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. It's a storm emergency. Plus we can eat banana bread with no cooking required, if the power goes out.
I stopped by the Variety Store to get some materials for ornament making that I can do by hand if we are without power. I think we're ready. Stay safe and dry, my Mid-Atlantic friends.